Things the Ark didn't prepare them for
by RebelliousWriter
Summary: When the Ark sent the delinquents to the Earth they could have prepared them a bit better. Maybe given them warning that time travel, zombies and meeting relatives could all be possible. It might have changed so many things. Or maybe not. Now they have to try and survive the zombie apocalypse while falling in love and dealing with betrayals from within. (OOC & AU)
1. Chapter 1

This is the product of many late night conversations about a crossover challenge with the 100 and another favorite that the writer picks. While Z Nation isn't a top ten of mine, zombies are. So is magic but too many others called dibs on a Harry Potter crossover and I wanted to try something different. Also the character 10k is nice on the eyes and Clarke's age, thus, this was born. Will it be any good? You readers will have to let me know as we go. :)

Disclaimer: If you can recognize them from the 100 or Z Nation, I do not own them.

Warnings: Will contain adult language, adult situations, character death and possible triggers due to violence and anything else that might happen in a post-apocalyptic world.

In regards to when this takes place in both shows, for the 100 it's when they open the doors and for Z Nation it's episode five, just after the tornado when they are driving away on the fire truck.

* * *

><p>Letting their feet touch the Earth for the first time was everything and nothing like they dreamed it would be.<p>

It was beautiful, it was bright, it was colorful, it was endless.

It was slightly overwhelming and scary.

Breathing the fresh air was such a new experience that quite a few of them could be seen just standing still breathing in and out with their eyes wide open.

They all took a few moments to silently appreciate that they had actually made it to Earth, a place no one on the Ark truly thought they would see in their lifetime.

Most of the younger kids ran around in circles, half chasing each other for fun, half just enjoying the feeling of the ground beneath their feet. None of the older kids seemed to want to stop them or calm them down, in fact most of them watched them with smiles on their faces, some looking almost jealous of their carefree nature.

Suddenly they could hear something not far from them and it sounded like it was coming closer. Everyone stopped and looked around, trying to find out what it was. They didn't have to look for long as seconds later figures could be seen running clumsily towards them.

Clarke Griffin wasn't sure who it was, but someone tried calling out to them, maybe they tried saying hello, maybe they asked a question. She would never know as one of the figures reached them and tore into their throat with their teeth. A gurgling scream was the last sound that teenager ever made.

There was no time to shout out a warning before dozens of the figures came pouring out of the trees towards them, attacking them without any hesitation.

Being the furthest away from the ship the younger ones fell first. There wasn't even time to think about saving them, that's how fast it happened.

The monsters didn't just bite into their victims, they tore into them, ripping the bodies apart with their teeth and hands. Blood was everywhere you looked.

Someone yelled out zombies and the name spread like wildfire as everyone ran in different directions trying to escape the carnage.

Another yelled for them to come back to the ship so they could lock themselves in but by then there wasn't that many from the Ark left.

Clarke was making her way back when she felt a tug on her jacket and then a sharp pain as teeth sunk into her skin over and over again.

Wells was a few feet ahead of her and heard her scream out. He turned and with a running jump shoved the two zombies off of her, falling to the ground with them. They wasted no time in taking chunks out of the fresher meat they had within reach of their mouths, forgetting all about Clarke.

"Wells!" Clarke cried out, shocked at what he did.

"Go! Get to the ship!"

Clarke could only stand there, frozen with shock as she watched her childhood friend get torn apart. He yelled at her again to go and seeing that he gave his life for hers, that there was no saving him, she did as he commanded. She turned her back to him and the last thing he said to her was something she would never forget.

"Clarke, I don't want to die with you hating me! I'm sorry, it wasn't me. It was your mom."

It wasn't something she understood fully right then, but later when she thought back on it, she would remember and realize what he meant.

She would also think back and remember that she slowly walked away from Wells, she didn't run. And not one of the so called zombies made a move in her direction.

* * *

><p>Bellamy Blake had gotten on the ship to Earth so that he could protect his baby sister, it was his life's main goal. When he saw those monsters running towards them he instantly knew something was wrong and dragged his sister back to the ship, despite her protests and attempts to get away.<p>

He pushed her up a set of stairs and told her to stay put. In her attempts to get away from him she had seen what was going on so she didn't complain at all, just went to the upper level and waited for him.

Bellamy stood at the ship doors trying to process what he was seeing as fast as he could. It was a massacre, there was no other word for it. Most of the kids were falling left and right, never to get up again. Others he saw fall and get up seconds later, only to attack someone themselves.

He called out, hoping to get as many as he could back in the ship. It was too late for most of them, but he prayed to save some. Precious few ran in and just as he was about to shut the doors he looked to the right and saw the blonde girl that hadn't wanted them to open the doors at first, she was just standing there looking at the ship but not getting in. Bellamy jumped down and grabbed her, mostly carrying her inside. The moment they passed it he pulled the lever to shut the doors.

The blonde was trying to say something, but it was drawn out by a call for help from a back corner. Bellamy rushed over to see the kid that ran in with him as he was bringing in the girl had been bitten and had turned into one of the monsters. One of the older boys was pushing him back, being careful not to let his teeth get near him.

Bellamy didn't hesitate in pulling out his gun and shooting it in the head, making him stop instantly. Everyone that was left, a pitiful few, crowded around him as the arm that was raised with the gun slowly fell back down.

Before anyone else could say anything, a girl spoke up from behind him. He turned to see that it was the girl he brought in.

"I hope you have another bullet. He wasn't the only one bitten." With her confession, she pulled up her shirt, letting them all see the bite marks on her side.

Bellamy was quick to point his gun back at her, but someone grabbed his arm, preventing him from doing anything.

"Wait, we can't go around killing humans for no reason. Why hasn't she changed? The other one was fine when he came in here and was fully changed ready to take a bite out of us seconds later. And the ones outside turned just as fast. It's been longer than that and she is still human, she looks like she's in pain but fine."

Not a single one of them had anything to counter that, so with his gun still in hand Bellamy just stood there and watched her for a few minutes along with everyone else.

Moments later it was his sister that spoke up. "It's been like five minutes and she hasn't changed. Maybe she won't?"

There was no answer to her question, no one knew. None of them had any idea what was going on, let alone what to do.

Maybe if they had known beforehand, maybe if someone had told them of what they might be facing, maybe the slaughter might not have happened. Maybe they would have known what to do about the girl that was bitten but not turning. Maybe they wouldn't be scared out of their minds. Maybe there would be more of them left.

But they didn't know and had no idea what to do next.

It was the girl, bitten and curled up against the door hugging herself that offered a solution.

"I think someone should go get on the radio, we need to talk to the Ark."


	2. Chapter 2

Clarke hugged herself tighter, trying to control her panic as best as she could, but it wasn't working very well. She was on the verge of a total emotional breakdown. She went over in her head again the facts she knew, thinking that maybe gathering her thoughts would help.

One, the Ark had sent one hundred of them down to the Earth to see if it was safe for them to live. Well, that one made sense since she knew that the Ark was dying, they didn't have much more air. What didn't make sense to her was that the adults just drugged them didn't even give them the choice to go to the Earth or not and it damaged how she saw adults. Adults who are supposed to help kids, guide them, protect them.

Two, Earth was not safe. It had zombies. _Zombies._ Which was just insane sounding and if she didn't see it with her own eyes, felt it on her own skin, she would have thought it was a nightmare.

Three, on the topic of Zombies, they tore into their victims and if enough of them was left, they turned into a zombie themselves. Everyone had except her. And that was what was causing her to freak out the most. She had been bitten three times and almost an hour later she still hadn't turned. Why didn't she?

She didn't remember much of what happened after she made the suggestion to contact the Ark. That was an hour ago and she knew one of the boys went up to see about the radio but something had happened to it and needed to be fixed. Apparently a few of the teenagers knew what to do and said it wouldn't take long.

Clarke briefly got lost in her thoughts again, but it wasn't long before she was shaken out of them by one of the others.

"Hey, you're Clarke Griffin right? Your mom is Councilwoman Griffin?"

Clarke didn't understand why he was asking, but that's who she was so she nodded in agreement.

"Cool. I'm Monty, Monty Green. We have the communications up and ready to go and we thought since you're the daughter to someone on the council, well that you should be the one to talk to them. You know since Wells is, um, gone."

On one hand Clarke didn't mind it, she had questions she wanted answers to along with everyone else. But to possibly see her mother so soon, knowing she was part of a group to send them down to what could have been their death if the air here was still bad? She didn't know what she would say to her if her mother came on. Does she forgive her? Can she forgive her? And how does she tell his dad that Wells wasn't with them anymore because he turned into a freaking zombie saving her?

"Sure, OK, I can do that." What could she say besides yes? As much as she didn't want to talk to the adults that sent them here, they did have questions that needed to be answered.

Monty helped her up and followed her to the upper level along with everyone else still on the lower level. When everyone was crowded around Clarke picked up the headset pointed out to her and said she was ready. Monty turned it on and looked at Clarke.

"Right, let's get some answers and figure out what the hell is going on."

She pushed the switch to talk like Monty showed her and started speaking.

"Ark, can you hear me? This is Clarke Griffin calling out to the Ark. Come in Ark."

It felt like forever as she kept repeating it as they all waited for someone to answer.

* * *

><p>Private First Class Simon Cruller, or as he was being called during these zombie infested years, Citizen Z, was fooling around like any other day, just trying to keep his mind off of the fact that he was alone and had been for a very long time. He monitored what he could, trying to reach out to people, but the amount of people actually left alive to talk to him was going down every day.<p>

His main focus at the NSA Northern Light listening station was Operation Bite-mark, he tried to guide the group that was working their way across the United States to bring Murphy to California in hopes that a cure could soon be found.

When he first heard about Murphy he felt sorta bad for the dude. He had been in prison at the start of the zombie apocalypse and was forced to take an experimental vaccine. Only instead of seeing if it worked, the doctor and military protecting her left him to his fate, even as they heard his screams as he was bitten into while still tied up. It had only been because Lieutenant Mark Hammond went back at the last minute that they even knew he had survived the bites. Who knows what would have happened to him if they didn't go back for him?

What began as just any other day, quickly became much more.

_"Ark, can you hear me? This is Clarke Griffin calling out to the Ark. Come in Ark."_

Citizen Z blinked and blinked again in confusion. Ark? Where had he heard that name before? He was instantly intrigued and quickly searched for information on the Ark, wanting some background information before he answered the call. What he found was something he had forgotten about but had been told about second hand shortly after it happened, now he skimmed all of the previously classified reports on it and couldn't help but wondering why he was hearing their transmission now when all reports stated they lost contact with them shortly after they went up.

Hearing the girl call out again, this time he answered.

"Hello Clarke Griffin, this is the Northern Light post, can I be of some help?" He heard a startled sound and some shuffling answer him, he smiled to himself in amusement. Had he scared someone?

_"Hello? I'm sorry, we are trying to reach someone else. Who are you?"_

"Yes I heard, you want to reach the Ark Station. I don't think that is possible, we have been without contact with them for a few years now. As for who I am, you can call me Citizen Z."

_"But it has to be possible! Wait, hang on, what do you mean a few years?"_

"Just what I said ma'am. We lost contact with them I think about four years ago or so, shortly after they went up. I'm very sorry. I'll help you out if I can though."

It seemed that his reply wasn't what was expected, for he could hear a number of voices all start speaking at once, each one getting louder in their frustration to be heard over one another. What he was hearing was mostly a jumbled mess but what he did understand confused the hell out of him.

Did they just say four years ago wasn't right because they had been in space for almost one hundred years and they had always been told no one was left alive on Earth?

What the fuck kind of joke was this?

This was the motherfucking zombie apocalypse and even if he was alone up here in the middle of the freezing nowhere, he still had important work to do. He didn't have time to be pranked by kids who thought they could fool him. He looked into where they were transmitting from and hacked into their files to see what they were up to. What he found shocked him more than when he first found out about the zombies.

His mind flew as he tried to make sense of what he read. It couldn't be possible, it just couldn't. But then again.. he was in the middle of Zombies Vs. Humans part one, which the humans so far were seriously getting their asses kicked by the way, so who was he to say that time travel wasn't also real?


	3. Chapter 3

Clarke heard his words, but the meaning behind them took a moment to grasp.

The others all questioned it as well, asking if they heard the same thing. Which had to be wrong.. right?

None of this was helping any at all, so she stood up and yelled out to get everyone's attention.

"HEY! Calm down! Asking each other isn't going to do anything, we all know the same thing here. Which is nothing. Now if we can stay calm and quiet maybe we should talk more to this Citizen Z guy."

They heard a throat clearing over the connection from the guy that had floored them with his news. _"That sounds like a good idea to me, I'm pretty confused myself. I hacked into the files you have from whatever it is your transmitting from and the things I'm reading I don't understand."_

"How about we trade information? We'll answer what you want to know if you tell us what is going on?"

_"I can try Miss Griffin. Is what you're saying true? The Ark Station that you came from left Earth about one hundred years ago?"_

"Yes, but we are just the Ark now. One of our stations we lost to a major conflict and the other twelve stations joined together to make one, calling it just the Ark."

_"Wow. Well, that does add up with what I'm reading in your files, but a few things are still not unless I'm crazy. Ok, Miss Griffin and company let me give you a small history lesson. In 2010 here on Earth a virus started, we are unsure how but it caused the dead to become, um, undead. Zombies. It spread fast, there was no cure, there was nothing anyone could do. In 2011, it was settled that four hundred people from thirteen different Nations would leave Earth and go live in space while nuclear bombs got dropped all over the planet. It was the belief that the nukes would kill the virus. Following so far?"_

Clarke murmured a yes and a few others did as well, all of them unmoving while paying rapid attention.

_"Excellent. So four hundred went up into space, knowing it would be a very long time before the radiation levels would be safe enough for them to return. When they did come back home they all had the skills and knowledge to rebuild each nation, knowledge that they should have passed down. Unfortunately, the nukes never got detonated, for reasons unknown. All around the world we also set up ungrounded bunkers to try and save people. Sadly most of them are still sitting unused. In 2012, the virus had reached ninety percent of the world and it was estimated that roughly sixty percent of the population was gone. By 2013, there was only about twenty percent of us left. 2014 was the last calendar year for Earth, it was the year Earth fell. It was also the last time we spoke to anyone on the Ark. We had less than ten percent of humans left. Ten percent was the number scientists believed would be too low to ever get back to where we were even if a cure was found. Since then we count our years as AZ, After Zombies. The current year is 03 AZ, or if it helps, 2017."_

It just wasn't real, it couldn't be. He was playing a trick on them.

From next to her Monty addressed the guy who had to be lying. "Sir, I'm Monty Green. Are you saying that the current year is 2017? As in right this minute?"

_"Yes Sir, that is what I'm saying. What year was it for you when you left the Ark?"_

"This is going to sound totally insane but it was 2108 for us." Monty shakily replied.

_"Not so insane for me. It's as I thought. What do you guys know about time travel?"_

None of them could even think of a reply other than "huh?"

_"I'm pretty sure that's what happened. I can't tell you how, I was never good at any science or physics classes but all signs and proof point to time travel. Proof is in the files you have, the dates on them. The dates of your births, the dates that the ship you're on was last checked, the date it was last fueled. Now all of this could also be a very, very huge prank by whoever you are, but I'm willing to bet all of the bullets I have left that it's not. It's too crazy not to be real."_

"Fuck that. Time travel? There's no way!" Bellamy cursed behind Clarke, his tone very angry and disbelieving.

_"You don't have to believe me. I'm just saying that based on the facts between the information I gathered from you and the information I have, that's the only conclusion I can come up with that fits. Why have you come back now? How many are you?"_

The Ark didn't have many books, but the ones they did have and let the kids read Clarke had liked to read as often as she could. She tried to think back on what she had read about time travel and the like. "So like a black hole? A wormhole? Either one just sounds perfect. We jumped time somehow and got landed with dead people that want to bite us and make us their undead best friends! Or bite us to devour us until there's nothing left!" She was shouting by the end, becoming pretty hysterical.

Monty forced her back into her seat from her standing position and rubbed her back trying to soothe her. "I'm sorry about Clarke, I'm sure she didn't mean to yell at you. She's just freaking out after being bitten and hearing about time traveling on top of that, well I'm sure you understand. We came back because the Ark was dying, running out of air. Our trip was a trial run of sorts, to see if it was safe. They didn't give us a choice, they just picked us and forced us to come. When we landed we went outside, we didn't know about the zombies. No one on the Ark ever told us. One hundred of us came down, only thirteen of us are left."

* * *

><p>Citizen Z thought nothing these kids said to him was going to shock him more than them coming from space, from the future. Then they mentioned that Clarke was bitten. They had been talking for much, much longer than it took for a person to turn. How was she alive? Did they find another Murphy but with a natural cure inside her somehow?<p>

"Did you just say someone had been bitten? And hasn't turned?" He stood up so quickly that the chair shot out behind him across the room.

_"Yes. Clarke was bitten and hasn't turned. We waited for it, but it never happened. It was almost two hours ago by now. Give or take a bit."_

Citizen Z did a little dance, excited for what this could mean. He had to get in contact with the members of Operation Bite-mark and update them, get them all together somehow. His fingers flew over his keyboard as he tried to figure out where they could meet up. There! Operation Bite-mark would have to backtrack some depending on how far they had moved from their last known location but there was a place close to Clarke and her group that would be perfectly safe for them to meet. "Before now there has only been reports of this happening one other time and he was injected with an experimental vaccine that was in its final testing phase. No one has naturally survived, no one."

He felt bad for dropping that bit of information and only felt worse as he heard someone crying, Clarke most likely.

"Listen the other person that was bitten and lived is with a group on its way to a research center in California to work on a cure. Would you think about going with them to figure out a cure? They aren't that far from you if I can get in contact with them could I give them a location near you that you all could meet up at? The location is secure and has plenty of food and other supplies."

One of the males told them they all had to talk first and too fast for him to reply, the connection was dropped. He had nothing to do, but wait for their answer now.

* * *

><p>Time travel? It seemed so unreal, not something that could have actually happened. What if it was real? The guy did sound honestly surprised and confused, maybe it really happened? Somehow, someway, they had actually come back in time. While it would have been interesting to know how, did it really matter? It wasn't like they had a reason to find out, they couldn't go back. Soon there wouldn't be anything or anyone to go back to.<p>

Bellamy listened to what the guy offered before telling him they had to talk about it alone. The protectiveness he had first only felt towards his sister had now spread to Clarke and the rest of them. He felt as the oldest male that it was up to him to take care of them. Bellamy didn't know a damn thing about time travel but what he had seen in the few movies the Ark had, he had figured out that whatever caused them to come back would not happen again. The Ark would not be following them, it would take a miracle and this zombie filled Earth didn't seem to have those anymore. No, the remaining thirteen of them were on their own now, they had to take control of their own lives because no one was going to save them. They would save themselves.

In his darkest deepest thoughts, Bellamy was happy that no one else from the Ark would come. It meant that what he had done to follow his sister would never be known unless he told someone. His sister would never know he had become a killer.

He glanced at the others and took in their confused, scared, helpless looks. Lastly, his eyes landed on Clarke. Bellamy was smarter than he looked, he knew if Clarke went to go help with a cure it would mean that she was tested on day and night. Adding in the fact that she was somehow from the future, no doubt they would run more tests on her. For something she didn't even do. Did he want that to happen to her? Even not knowing her, no, he didn't.

"I know what we just heard is a lot to take in and something we need to talk about and make plans for. But the biggest issue is Clarke and this cure, "

Monty interrupted him with a glare, "I'm not just going to send her off to some strangers for her to be experimented on! She's one of us Blake! I don't care what you say, she's not going! We can't do that!"

Bellamy gave him an unimpressed look until the boy stopped his rant.

"If you would have let me finish you would know that I agree with you. We are the only people alive from the Ark, with this time travel bullshit there is no way they would be able to follow us. We are by ourselves now, but still together. We need to stay together and work together to keep all of us alive. Not all of us know each other but most of us at least know of the rest of us, that's something we can trust. We can't just go around trusting strangers, not here! Outside there are zombies to worry about, why split up and have to worry about other humans as well? No I say we stick together!"

The look Clarke was giving him made him feel ten feet tall and more importantly, his sister was looking at him in happiness and with her old hero worshiping that she used to have. He knew then that he had made the right choice and would stick with it. These people were now his to protect. He would take care of them as best as he could until his last breath.

Everyone else was also smiling and nodding to his words and he let out a sigh of relief that they all agreed.

"We can't stay in here much longer without food, water and weapons. We need to get to the place Jaha told us about, get in those supplies." He cast a worried look at the ship doors and to what was on the other side of them. How would they get past the zombies?

As if she knew where his mind was, Clarke gave him a solution. "With all of the zombies out there and only one gun most of us won't make it." She paused and took a shaky breath. "But I can. After they.. after they bit me they ignored me. I'm sure I can get out of here and get to the place where the supplies are safely. All I would have to do is bring back enough weapons for the rest of you and then we can all go and be protected."

Part of him wanted to protest on her going along. Maybe it was the fact that she was a girl, maybe it was the fact that she had already been hurt. Whatever it was some of him wanted to shout no. The rest of him was actually thinking and knew it was a smart choice.

* * *

><p>Clarke was scared and silently hitting herself in the head. Why did she suggest that? What the fuck was wrong with her?<p>

It was too late to take it back, she had said it and while scared, she knew she would follow through with the plan. It was the right thing to do and they had just finished saying they didn't plan on turning her over to strangers. She felt like she owed them. Not enough to do anything too crazy, but enough to want to help them get to a more secure place with supplies.

She and Bellamy walked over to grab the map that was on the ship and he walked her to the door. At the door he stopped her with a gentle hand on her arm.

"I'm sorry you have to do this. I'm sorry you even got bit. I wish I could take your place."

Clarke offered him the best smile she could, hoping it didn't come out like the grimace she felt like it was. "It's ok Bellamy, I can do this. I'll see you soon."

He pushed the level for the doors down just a bit, enough for her to slide out and jump to the ground. "See you soon."

Clarke jumped down and heard the door slam shut behind her. Around her she could see a dozen or so zombies still hanging around but other than them looking up at the noise, they ignored her. So far so good.

The map she had was open and she was looking at it and then looking off in the distance. She did it a few more times before cursing and banging on the door.

"Bellamy we have a problem, they dropped us on the wrong fucking mountain. It's going to take a few hours to get there!"

She could hear the others discussing it saying she shouldn't go and before they could say anything she made up her mind. The distance didn't matter.

"I'm going anyway. It might be a half a day before you guys have any food or water so try to rest or something. Be back soon."

Without looking back, she left, intending on being as fast as she could in bring back weapons and however much food and water she could for them.


	4. Chapter 4

While the hours passed as she made her way to the supplies, Clarke let her mind wonder a bit over the zombie and time traveling issues. Both topics made her feel like she was in some kind of horror/science fiction book or maybe even a nightmare. She had already pinched her arm to make sure it wasn't a nightmare, well alright she did it a few times but she was alone out here so she only looked silly to herself. When most people that did that, they did it because something so amazing was happening and they wanted to make sure it was real, Clarke was hoping the opposite. She had hoped this hell she was in wasn't real. Unfortunately, it was real and she desperately wanted out.

The problems with zombies was something she didn't have to worry about like the others. They would always have to be careful so they didn't get bit, while she could just walk right up to them and nothing happened. It made her want to know why, what was so different about her? Not enough to want to subject herself to becoming a lab rat but it did bother her that she didn't know. Was it something that was wrong with her? Also, what would the zombie DNA do to her? Nothing? Something crazy like that comic book character that was bitten by a spider and made him turn into a superhero, was that something that could happen to her? She really hoped not, she looked terrible in tights and being a superhero sounded exhausting. Maybe if this place was safe for them to stay in she could make a medical lab if they didn't have one, then at least she could run some tests on herself to see if she could find anything.

That brought her mind to the other hell- time travel. Seriously it all was just unreal. Clarke hoped to find some books on the theory of it or possibly someone who had studied it, she had many questions about it might have happened and why. Why did they come back in time to this? Were they being punished for something, for their ancestors leaving? She shook her head at those thoughts, knowing she just sounded insane now. None of them were being punished, it was just something that happened and they now had to live with it. If somehow she ever found out more information good, but if not, well it wouldn't be the end of the world would it be? Cause that had already happened. Thank you zombies and who or whatever made it happen.

She had been so lost in her head that she didn't notice she had finally reached Mount Weather. Now all she had to do was find the hidden door on this side. Couldn't they have left better directions other than a general spot? It took her almost a half an hour of standing and just starting, trying to see something out of place before she found it. Luckily they had at least provided them with the code hand written on the map to get into the door or they would have never been able to get in.

It took a few sharp tugs on the handles before the doors swung open but before she could head inside she was stopped when a body slammed into hers, knocking her to the ground. She let out a scream so loud it had the birds around them flying as fast as they could.

* * *

><p>Bellamy was pacing back and forth angry that he had let Clarke go, angry that it was even further away, angry that-<p>

"Bell, stop, what's going on with you?" He looked down at the small hand on his arm and followed the hand up to the face of his baby sister.

He lightly pushed away from her to run his fingers through his hair, pulling at the ends of it. "She's out there alone O! With zombies! Because we traveled back in time straight into them! They ate most of us, ate! This is crazy!"

Octavia lets her brother rant for a moment, knowing he needed to let it out. She wondered why and how the Clarke girl got into her brother's head so fast. Not just her but the rest of them too. She had watched her brother walk around to all of them, making sure they were ok and told them to try and rest. From seeing her only care for her to caring for these strangers should have made her feel jealous, instead it made her feel proud.

"Bell pacing like this is only going to get you worked up more. You heard her, it will be hours before she gets back and we don't have any water. Why don't we just go sit down for now?" While she wanted to try and offer some support on the other things bothering him, Octavia had no clue what to say about zombies or time travel. She had heard the others talk about what they had seen or read about them but having been stuck living under the floor most of her life Octavia didn't have hardly any of those experiences. The only stories she knew were the ones Bellamy had told or read to her and zombies wasn't one he would have told her, worried that it would scare her.

Suddenly a flash of brilliance came to her! It was perfect, they could maybe find out more about the other person that was bitten and it would keep Bellamy's mind busy so he didn't pace a hole in the floor!

"Oh! How about instead we see if we can talk to that guy again, find out what he knows about the other person that got bitten? We need to know if anything else might happen to Clarke. She didn't turn but what about any other symptoms?"

Bellamy was surprised at the suggestion, then more surprised he hadn't thought of it before now. With a smile in thanks at his sister, he went off to do just that, hoping he didn't get anymore bad news.

Monty stopped him on his way, asking what he was going to do. Bellamy answered him and spoke just loud enough that the others heard as well, and one by one they got up and moved to get comfortable around the radio.

Bellamy blinked at them, wondering what just happened. One of the girls saw and gave him a grin. "It's as you and Monty said, she's one of us now, we have to stick together. You can't keep us in the dark about anything, we deserve to know too."

* * *

><p>Citizen Z was goofing off just waiting for the Ark, no the time travelers? No, the.., shit he had to come up with a name for them. Them, he was waiting back from them on what they wanted to do. He had just won another game of thumb war against himself when the radio squeaked at him.<p>

_"Uh hello? Citizen Z? This is Bellamy Blake a friend of Clarke's. Are you there?"_

Hmm. He didn't know if it was god or bad that it wasn't Clarke that was speaking to him. Did he come on too strong or fast about meeting the other group? Did he scare her?

"Hello Bellamy, this is Citizen Z. What can I do for you?"

_"We wondered if you could give us some more information on the other person that was bitten? How is he doing? We know the bite didn't make him turn but did it do anything else to him? Is there anything we need to know or do for Clarke?"_

Hmm. What to do? He was so glad he had switched them to a private channel during their first conversation, while there might not be much of a public left, he knew that this was not stuff that should be public knowledge.

On one hand Operation Bite-mark and it's secrets should stay with them. However what would it really hurt to tell them a few things? Nothing too important, just the smaller basics.

"I haven't seen the man in person but I can tell you a few things. His health was fine at first, then it quickly worsened. He got weaker, had a fever, aches in his bones and it hurt him to walk. That lasted a few months before his strength came back plus some. That was shortly after he was bitten. Now on the outside he looks terrible like he is very sick. The reports though, they say he claims to feel great. No tests have been run on him yet so no one is clear on what is going on inside his body. I wish I could tell you more."

_"Thank you for what you could tell us, at least we know what we have to look forward to with Clarke."_

"Not necessarily. He was injected with an experimental vaccine, Clarke wasn't. Something from the vaccine could have caused his issues, we have no way of knowing. This is why I suggested Clarke going with them to California. Has she agreed to go?"

The pause before anyone answered him seemed to last forever.

_"Sorry, but no she has not. None of us like the idea of her just going off with strangers for her to be experimented on in ways we would have no way of protecting her from."_

Citizen Z wanted to calm their fears and tell them that nothing like that would happen, but he didn't like to lie. It was very likely that once in California no one would ever see Murphy again except the doctors and scientists working on the cure. So it was very understandable that they came to the same or near the same conclusion and didn't want that to happen to someone they knew. His issue now was did he tell someone about the girl and have someone pick her up? Or did he just leave them alone? Citizen Z made a split second decision that would later on save them all.

"I understand her choice. I do want you guys to know that I will still be here and can help with anything I can. Do you have a plan for what you'll do?"

_"Thanks man. Yeah, I think we have one. When we leave someone will let you know and as soon as we can get another radio working we'll let you know where we are."_

"Good, I'd like to keep talking to you guys. I'll spend as much time as I can researching time travel, see what I can find. I don't promise to understand all of what I find, but I'll try."

_"That would be awesome, thanks again. See you later man."_

As the radio call ended Citizen Z sat back with a smile, happy with how he handled that. Maybe it wasn't for the best interest of the humans but letting Clarke go felt like the right choice. Now to pop in a new record and read up on time travel while he waited for Addy or Garnett to get in contact with him again.

* * *

><p>AN: Clarke and 10k will be the main pairing, any other pairings you'd like to see? Or ones you don't want to see?

So thirteen from the Ark's 100 have survived, who do you think they are? You already know of a few, any guesses on the others? Who do hope didn't survive?


	5. Chapter 5

Clarke laid out on the ground breathing hard, trying to slow down the racing heart that felt like it was trying to beat out of her chest. The very last thing she expected when she opened the door was for a zombie to come speeding out and crash into her. When the zombie's face went right up to hers, she could actually feel it inhaling her scent and for a second she thought she was going to get bitten again. It didn't happen though, the zombie sniffed her a few more times and then just got off of her to run off.

She still stayed on the ground for moments after it left, shaking and crying. But those few moments was all she gave herself, she had to get up and get moving, back to the people counting on her. On shaky legs, she stood up, slowly and carefully making her way inside, thankful, yet confused, to see lights on above her head. The hallway she was in was huge and felt like it went on forever, she felt tiny standing in it. Glancing around she was pleased to see a map on either side of the door. Sparing a moment to look at it, she found that she had just not only found supplies for them, but a place they could live. It was more than big enough for all of them and some. Whoever built this, built it with hundreds of people in mind. They had a medical area, two kitchens, a few large bunking areas, about a dozen private sleeping quarters, and countless other sections that she just skimmed over for now. They could spend more time looking around when they all came back together, first she had to go get them. With that goal in mind, she noted where the armory was and where the closest kitchen to it was.

Opening the door to the armory was like staring at a very confusing puzzle. While Clarke did know what a gun looked like, she didn't have any experience with them. Due to that inexperience this room, with it's various different types and sizes, intimidated her. Slowly she walked around trying to see if she could figure out what would be easiest not only for the others to use, but for her to carry. Grabbing a bag from a pile near the door, she tossed in a few smaller handguns from the table closest to the door and from the wall above that, took down a few larger ones. She planned on finishing up with a few of the guns with straps that she could carry on her back when a few bins in the back of the room caught her eye. One was filled with crowbars, another had axes with long handles. Figuring those would be easy to use for the ones that didn't feel confident with a gun she grabbed as many as she could fit in her bag. For a group of teens that, as far as she knew, had never used a weapon of any kind, she had to just manage with what she could carry and hope it was enough to get them all back in one piece.

After she grabbed four of the guns with straps she rushed to the kitchen, wanting to make sure the food supplies they were promised was still there. Entering the kitchen she could only stop and stare. This room had more food and water than she had ever seen. Rows and rows of shelves that touched the ceilings stood before her, all filled with food. One wall had nothing but huge clear drums of what seemed to be water, along with cases of water stacked next to them. If this was just one kitchen, depending on how much was still good, they wouldn't starve while learning to hunt and grow their own food.

Clarke let out a squeal that she would deny ever making as she ran to the cases of water, ripping into one and chugging a bottle down. It was the best water she had ever had and she slowly drank the next one, savoring the taste as she browsed the shelves of food, trying to figure out what might have gone bad and what would be the best food to carry, and feed the people waiting for her. She had grabbed two more bags from the armory and had planned on wearing one on her back, one on her front while she carried the last one. It would really be a difficult trip back with all of it, but Clarke felt she had no other choice, they needed it all. Looking at all of the cans and bags of food left her feeling very unsure of what to get, most of the stuff she hadn't even had before! After walking up and down each row and examining everything she could see without a step stool or a chair, Clarke thought her best bet would just be some of the dried fruit and meats. Neither choice would be very heavy and she could carry quite a bit in one bag, leaving the last bag empty for water bottles.

Clarke finished gathering and packing the bags up with as much speed as she could, desperate to get back to her group. Not only did she know they had no supplies or way of protecting themselves, but she was also starting to get scared of being alone. With her mind focused on her goal, of being back with her group, she wasted no time in leaving and starting the hike back to them.

* * *

><p>Citizen Z was jamming out to some music, giving his furry companion a free air guitar solo show when one of the voices he had been waiting to hear from was heard. It was Garnett and his group, letting them know that a tornado did touch down where they had been and while they got banged up some, they were all alive still. When Garnett went on to tell him that they needed to take some time to get some good rest, food and stock up supplies for the rest of their trip, it was no surprise to anyone when Murphy started to complain. As usual his objections got turned down or flat out ignored by the others. Citizen Z looked around their area and told them about a building with a pond behind it that was 20 miles west of them that he thought would be a good place to stay, that it was on a street with other homes and business that might give them some supplies was a huge help.<p>

After making sure to remind them to keep in touch and let him know when they left the area, Citizen Z said his good byes and went back to rocking out with his dog, happy knowing everyone in that group was alive.

* * *

><p>There were only a few miles left between her and the others, but as she stood there unable to take another step forward, she could see that the distance wasn't the only thing in her way. Standing just a few yards from her were some of the kids she had seen when they landed before the doors opened. Her heart broke at seeing what they had become and blinding anger took over. Anger at the Ark for sending them here, anger towards whatever caused the zombie virus in the first place and anger that most of them looked like they had just entered their teens, far too young for this. Lastly, she was angry at herself for not doing more to stop them from opening the doors so fast. If they hadn't would the same thing still have happened?<p>

She didn't think, she just dropped everything at her feet, pulling one of the larger guns into her hands and pointing it their direction. Maybe she didn't know much about guns but there had been posters in the armory that she had briefly looked over. In her fury she barely remembered to flick the safety off before squeezing the trigger.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Again and again until it clicked at her, making her glare at the gun like it had let her down for being empty. Luck was on her side since she wasn't really aiming, she ended up nailing a couple in the head, making sure they would never get up again.

Giving a roar that sounded animalistic at the fact that she missed some, she dropped the gun and grabbed one of the sharp axes, striding right up to them and without hesitation heaved it into the head of the closest one. The blood, brain and who knows what else that poured out when she yanked the ax out didn't even slow her down, nor did she notice it getting on her face, clothes and in her hair. She just kept going, making sure none of them would ever bite another human again.

Once there was none left she felt the anger slip away and waited for the horror and shame to come at what she did. When it never came she fell to her knees and cried at the loss of life, of what could have been for them had they lived and at who she had become. A killer. A murderer.

Her brain wanted to shut down at the thought of herself being a murderer and it caused her tears to slow down. That wasn't who she was. Was that now how she viewed herself? Would she introduce herself from now on as 'Clarke the murderer'? What about the others? If, _no, when_, when they had to kill zombies would she see them as murderers? No she wouldn't, of course not. She would see them as surviving. She would be happy that they took the zombies out instead of the other way around, happy that it was another one, ten, hundred less zombies out there.

Still on her knees, covered in zombie gunk, sweat and tears, she promised herself that she would do whatever it took to protect the rest of them, the ones that had survived, the ones still living. Never again did she want to see someone she knew turn into one of these things. Not if she could help it.

* * *

><p>Bellamy had heard the bangs and knew it meant someone close was firing a gun. He believed it was Clarke but knowing they were not the only humans on Earth made him weary. One of the earliest things he had learned thanks to the Ark and it's people was that you had to look after you and yours because if not, no one else would. Not only that but there was always some that weren't content with the meager belongings and rations they had and would steal, lie or just take from those they thought weaker than them. If that was how it was on the Ark with their extremely limited food, water, medicine and other supplies, Bellamy knew people down here on Earth would be even worse thanks to the zombies roaming around and the lack of order. While he held the council accountable for what happened to his family and the one hundred kids they sent down here, he knew that they did for the most part work to make things as best as they could with what they had. They kept things and people in line and the Ark ran relatively smoothly. Remembering the Ark and its ways made him change his mind on what fell under his, it used to be just Octavia. Now it would be all of them that fell under him and his. He almost felt sorry for anyone that tried to do them harm. Normally Bellamy was mild mannered but he was honest enough with himself that he knew he had a ruthlessness inside of him that he would use when needed.<p>

Desperate to look out he almost cracked the door open to see if he could see anything but stopped himself, if someone other than Clarke was nearby he didn't want to be found so defenseless. Instead, he turned and walked around to check up on everyone, happy to see that everyone but Monty was sleeping peacefully.

Bellamy paced and paced some more, quite bored of just sitting and hiding, waiting for someone else to save him. His first thoughts of Clarke had been that she would be a useless spoiled princess, wanting to be waited on and doing nothing to help. That changed when she asked if he had another bullet and pointed out that she was bitten as well. Then she offered to go alone out into the woods full of zombies and other unknown horrors to get them supplies and he knew he had pegged her wrong. She may have looked like a princess but was far from one that expected things handed to her. He respected her willingness to go even as he could see the fear in her eyes. The zombies had scared her, he also knew she had questions about what happened to send them back in time, why she didn't turn and other questions, instead it seemed she just pushed them aside to do what was needed. That type of person was one he could relate to and one he was glad to see on their side.

A girl calling his name had him looking around for his sister, thinking it was her. But no, she was still sleeping. His name was called again, this time followed by a knock that came from the outside, letting him know who it was. Clarke had made it back! His victory yell woke the others and had them rushing to get up.

Monty was just steps behind him as he ran to the door and opened it so Monty could pull her in. Bellamy expected excited cheers or maybe some of the girls doing the hugging and jumping thing he knew they sometimes did for reasons he would never understand.

Instead he heard loud gasps and crying from a few of the girls. His sister flew across to Clarke and gathered her in a hug as his brain finally caught up with his eyes. He took notice of the bags and guns hanging off of her but he just gave them a brief passing glance. It was the blood dripping from the tool still clutched tightly in her hand and the gore on her clothes that had him worried.

* * *

><p>Monty stepped closer to her and slowly as if she was a wounded animal, took the bags from her and helped her sit down once she was unloaded of all her physical burdens. Bellamy could only watch, frozen by the thoughts running through him as his mind tossed around theories of what could have happened.<p>

After reassuring them that she was unharmed she told them of her journey, leaving nothing out. She purged herself of her fears and thoughts as she told them of her small breakdown after she killed the zombies that had once been kids from the Ark.

Clarke wasn't sure what she expected when she finished her story but total support wasn't it. Not one person spoke up and said she did anything wrong. In fact, just about all of the older teenagers made comments about them hoping to have the strength to do the same if the situation ever called for it.

One of the guys offered his shirt to Clarke to wear, saying he would be just fine wearing his jacket zipped up for now. Seeing that, Octavia and another girl took one of the bottles of water being passed around and helped Clarke move away from everyone else to get cleaned up.

It didn't take long for the food and water to be passed around, and as they ate they talked about their plans. One of the guys, Miller, voiced his fear of getting caught in the dark and knowing that time was against them, they all rushed to get ready.

Monty was sad to leave behind a way to communicate with others until Clarke told him that their new home was built for a small community, it had electricity and would most likely have a computer or radio room.

Bellamy and Miller sorted the weapons and passed them around, hoping it would be enough to get them to where they needed to go. Before today Bellamy was the only one of them that had seen a gun in person before, making them grateful for the other weapons. Just before opening the door to leave Bellamy gave a small lesson on how to aim, shoot and how to work the safety, reminded them to keep the girls in the middle and to keep an eye on their surroundings.

There was no longer a reason to stay but Clarke could almost see the fear coming off of them in waves, she didn't blame them one bit. Who would want to go out there? They had no choice though, they needed to get to a better shelter.

Full of fear but determination they stepped out, eyes looking around for dangers. Seeing none at the moment let them start their trip, each praying they would make it to their destination alive.


	6. Chapter 6

If it's one thing I've learned in life, it's that time can be a very fickle thing. Speeding and slowing down without warning, sometimes when you least wanted it to.

Like how quickly the time has passed since we got here. It's been two months and sometimes I feel like it was just yesterday.

Or how time seemed to freeze and then go in slow motion on our way here as we tried to protect everyone from a small group of zombies that had come out of nowhere. We lost two more of our own before killing them all, bringing our numbers down to just eleven.

It was also true what they said about time healing all wounds. The bite wounds I got had looked horrible after cleaning them up, they didn't just bite me but had also torn into my skin, leaving behind mouth size chunks missing from my left side. Now they looked much better as they healed, soon I bet there would only be scars. And scars I could live with, we all had them after all, inside and out.

Another thing I was spending time on was waiting to get sick. Bellamy told me what had happened to the infected man so we all figured it would happen to me as well. Only none of it happened. I did feel my muscles ache but knew that had more to do with training and working instead of being infected. As the weeks went by I actually started to feel stronger, better, healthier even. I guess I was the luckier one and skipped the sick stage.

When we got to Earth it had been late summer, now it was fall and the weather outside showed it. At first it confused us at how chilly it got and how fast but thanks to Citizen Z and his never ending fountain of information that he was more than willing to share with us, we learned a lot and kept learning more each day. Monty had been over the moon when he saw that not only did our new home have a communications center, it also had a computer lab set up with individual computer stations that we took major advantage of. Citizen Z helped us set them up and once we got it figured out he sent us videos, electric books, help guides and anything else he could think of to help us. We found out how seasons changed here, how to operate the generators, how to hunt, fish, save and store the meat, and to the joy of everyone, he helped us figure out what food was bad and what should be eaten first. Citizen Z became a favorite to everyone as he was almost always around and showed so much patience as we figured things out.

Life here at Mount Weather wasn't just talking to Citizen Z and reading on the computers though, there was always work to be done. And if there wasn't work, there was training. Of course as teenagers, not all of us wanted to do what was told of them by other teenagers which caused a few arguments here and there, all that got solved by me calmly pointing out the obvious.

No one was going to hand us food. No one was going to wash our clothes for us. No one was going to make sure the generators stayed running for us. No one but ourselves. If we wanted food, we had to hunt for it, gather it, store it, save it. All by ourselves. It wasn't going to just appear in the cafeteria at a certain time, handed to you by some adult that prepared it. That was a big reality slap to the face to some, finally understanding that they were alone. Knowing they were on their own and seeing the proof were two different things.

I had worried about leadership and who it would be, a few years ago when I asked my mom about the council on the Ark, she told me that there should always be someone in charge, not to control people but to lead them, and sometimes the person in charge also had a group of people to help him.

I had nothing to worry about though as most of us looked to Bellamy, something he noticed and used to keep things going. In addition to him, people also looked to me for answers or help, often seeking me out to ask questions or for praise when they did something right.

Being looked up to wasn't easy, I felt like I was always in the spotlight, which Bellamy agreed with when I brought it up to him. We talked it over and felt that since we both wanted the same thing, everyone safe and taken care of, that we could work together easily. That isn't to say we didn't fight, we disagreed many times on how to do things or who would do them. Bellamy wanted the girls doing what he deemed safe while the guys took care of hunting and protecting. At first he was even against us girls learning how to use any of the weapons, stating that they could protect us. That caused our first and biggest fight to date. I was offended as were the other girls and I let him know it. I wasn't going to sit behind all day at home, cooking and cleaning while we waiting on the big strong men folk. No way, not gonna happen. He didn't want to back down but against every single one of us girls saying the same thing he had to admit he was wrong and agreed to let us train as well. He wouldn't let any of us out to hunt until we could use a gun to his standards though, not even the guys.

He was just as headstrong as I was and it did cause us to bump heads a few more times after that, something everyone took notice of since our fights tended to get loud. It was a running joke that our fights would one day lead to us kissing, something that made us laugh when we heard it whispered around us. Neither of us had any interest in the other sexually, we could (and did when I brought it up to see what he thought) admit we thought the other was very attractive, however, we just didn't feel a spark, no kind of connection other than our shared leadership and friendship which grew deeper as the weeks flew by.

* * *

><p>While the Ark survivors had spent the last two months training, filling their bodies up with food, having clean clothes, learning and doing even more training, the same could not be said for Murphy and the members of his group.<p>

After the tornado they had meant to stop for a week, possibly two, so they could catch up on sleep and grab supplies for the rest of the trip. Of course as planned things often go, it didn't happen that way.

Murphy had started acting strange back at Warren's house, when he shaved his head and acted nutter then his usual annoying self. Then there was that business in the basement with the zombie that he wouldn't kill and how he acted afterwards. His behavior didn't get better while they rested, it got worse each day that passed. On top of that his health was rapidly going down hill and no one knew what to do. Weeks passed as they hoped he would get better so they could get back on the road again. Seeing that the medicine they had picked up for him still wasn't helping at all, Garnett made the decision to call Citizen Z and see what he suggested to do.

"Calling Citizen Z, this is Delta X-ray Delta, come in Citizen Z."

It didn't take long at all for him to answer Garnett.

"_Hello Delta X-ray Delta, how is everyone doing? Are you ready to continue your mission with the package?"_

"Actually no, there's a problem with the package. Do you know where we could go for better medical supplies and maybe a doctor?"

"_What do you mean there's a problem with the package?"_

"He's been sick and nothing is helping him, he's getting worse by the day. He's pretty bad."

"_Hang on, give me a moment."_

They looked at each other in confusion but did as he said, wondering what he was doing. Thankfully for their nerves, they didn't have long of a wait.

"_About two miles from you there is a farm, the couple that lived there used to talk to me until they ran out of food and refused to leave. They opted out instead."_

Murphy in his own way had to butt in. "So they killed themselves, whoop-de-do, what does that have to do with us? Could you get to the point already?"

Citizen Z continued as if he didn't even hear him._ "I doubt they have much as supplies, but they do have a working satellite and video connection. If you make your way there I think I can get in touch with a doctor I know that is closer to you than California. We can have her look at him and talk to him, see if she'll take a look at him in person or if he's ok to travel the rest of the way." _

Garnett traded looks with Warren, both of them picked up on something that Citizen Z wasn't saying. "What aren't you telling us?"

A dry chuckle answered them. _"A few things my friends, a few things. It's a small group but none of them are bad, I have all of their information on file. I have to talk to them before telling you any more of their details. I am sure she will look at him though. Can you get to the farm?"_

After getting the location, they agreed they could get to it and said they would be there in an hour after they gathered up all of their supplies and packed up.

* * *

><p>Citizen Z quickly called out to Monty, who he knew spent most of his time in the communications center, and asked him if Clarke and Bellamy were close by, as he needed to talk to them now if possible. Luck was on his side and they had just finished a meeting of their own and walked in a few moments later. Citizen Z explained what was going on and waited as they talked it over, he grew anxious as it looked like while Clarke was fine with it, Bellamy on the other hand, didn't want to let in strangers, thinking it might be dangerous to them. Bellamy almost had it his way but after hearing that Clarke would like to talk to someone else that was bitten finally agreed to talking to them and going from there.<p>

Happy that he had at least set up a meeting, Citizen Z got off after letting him know he would set up a video call in shortly less than an hour, which Clarke said they would be ready for.

* * *

><p>10k was restless as he waited with the others at the farm. Things have been tense all around, he would have liked to think it was due to Murphy being weird but it wasn't, at least not for him. In his case it was due to the thing with Cassandra when the tornado hit, it confused him and he was still trying to figure it out. Right before the tornado hit he had tried being nice to her by covering her back up when her blanket fell. That backfired as he almost got knifed for his efforts when he really didn't even mean anything by it. But in the car, that was different right? It certainly felt different.<p>

But all thoughts of Cassandra left his mind as the screen in front of them flickered on, showing them the group that would hopefully be able to help Murphy. It was in the middle of those faces that 10k saw an angel, a beautiful stunning angel. One with a welcoming smile and a halo of golden locks.


	7. Chapter 7

10k watched as she smiled at them while looking them all over. Was it all in his head or when she stopped at him did her smile get a tad bit brighter? Just the thought of it made him sit up straighter as he gave her a small smile in return. While doing so he felt someone's eyes on him, turning around he saw Cassandra behind him not looking happy at all. She was glaring at him, he had no idea what he had done this time to upset her. Girls were so difficult to understand!

Citizen Z introduced the two groups to each other, giving him the chance to learn that the girl was Clarke Griffin and she was their groups doctor! Murphy didn't like that at all, he started complaining that she was too young to know anything, even after hearing that her mother was a doctor and Clarke had been learning from her for years. Clarke took everything he said with a smile on her face, but her eyes betrayed her. 10K could see that she was very offended by his words, insulted that he would think she wasn't good enough. She didn't say a word though, just sat listened to Murphy's ranting with a tight smile.

10K also watched Bellamy, the guy sitting next to Clarke, as he scanned all of them, knowing right away what he was doing. He was studying them, reading them. What was he getting from them? What did he see in each of them? Bellamy didn't let any signs show on his face about what he was thinking, not until he got to Murphy. Whatever it was that Bellamy found, he didn't like. His distrust of Murphy was plain to see, as was the anger that was building the longer Murphy ranted about Clarke. All of that stopped when Clarke put her hand on Bellamy's arm. A gesture that was fast to calm him down.

Finally Warren got Murphy to shut up with a well-placed elbow to the gut and tried to look apologetic at the screen, try as she might, it mostly came across as a grimace. "I'm sorry about him, pay him no mind. I don't. Citizen Z told us you could maybe help him? It is very important that we get him to California alive and we have no idea what's wrong with him."

* * *

><p>Clarke didn't know what she expected but seeing how terrible he looked wasn't it. Was the zombie bites affecting him in a different way than her? Could they be causing him to look that bad? Either way, she knew she had to help him. Did she also want to see if she could get some samples of his blood? Sure but that honestly wasn't her first concern.<p>

Then she almost regretted wanting to help him the moment he opened his mouth. All the did was bitch and complain! What the hell was his problem? Clarke was more than happy when someone finally shut him up.

"I know how important it is and I can see how sick he looks," Of course when she started speaking she was interrupted. Did this group have no manners?

"_What do you mean you know how important it is? What do you know?" _

Clarke took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. She had talked to Bellamy about this, they had hoped to have this conversation in person unless it came up, well she just wouldn't give them all the details just yet. "No longer is he the only person to survive a zombie attack. One of us was bitten and didn't turn. By chance or luck, Citizen Z heard us on our old radio and explained to us that there was a man in the same situation that was on his way to California."

"_If that's true then that person needs to come with us to California to help make a cure."_ The woman called Warren sounded very suspicious, not that she blamed her.

"I'm sorry but that won't be happening. The person is staying here with us, you already have someone that can help." Clarke wasn't going to mention that she was working on one herself, not a cure since she was sure they couldn't cure the ones already infected, but a vaccine. If they got closer to the group and trusted them, maybe she would let them know, but not right now.

Warren looked like she wanted to make another comment, she seemed to take offensive that she was being told no, that the person wouldn't be going with them. Clarke spoke before she could, let's see how she liked being cut off.

"Look that isn't the issue, or any of your business, to be honest. Citizen Z asked us to help you, we don't have to. We can provide you with a safe place to sleep, food to eat, some to take with you when you leave, showers, clean clothes and health care. That is it though. You will be coming into our home so if you are thinking of coming here to take one of us without our permission then you should rethink about coming. We will treat that as a threat and take appropriate actions."

"_Clarke, Warren, ladies. Let's calm down now. Warren, they do have a person that was bitten and they will be staying where they are. Your mission is to bring Murphy to the lab in California, not anyone else. Clarke has agreed to see Murphy and heal him as best as she can. Isn't that what you wanted?"_

Through the screen, Warren could be seen struggling with something. _"Yes. How do you know we can trust them? All I see are kids, who are they? Where are the adults?" _

Citizen Z looked at Bellamy and he shook his head, giving him the sign that he didn't want them to know about the Ark right now. Bellamy had made his intentions clear on the subject, it would be up to him and Clarke to tell others if they wanted, not Citizen Z. Instead, Citizen Z would give another story that they had come up with._"I'll explain all of that shortly. After I do, if you still wish to bring Murphy to Clarke I will give you directions. Clarke, Bellamy, do you have anything else to add?"_

Clarke let Bellamy take this one, she was done with the sneers on Murphy's face and she knew if she opened her mouth again it would be to tell him off.

"As Clarke said, this is our home you'll be coming to. We have a few rules. One- None of you are allowed to bring weapons into the clinic, you can, however, leave them right outside the door. Two- If you are here longer than a few days we would expect you to help us hunt for food, as well as giving us a hand with the day to day upkeep. You'll be eating our food, using our generators for hot showers and we think it's only fair. And lastly, but most importantly, you respect us and we will respect you."

Clarke was proud of how confidently Bellamy spoke, right then he looked like the leader he was. Strong, self-assured, protective of his group. She was happy to be by his side.

The other group for the most part didn't seem to like that they would have rules, all but the two that had caught her eye while she briefly assessed them, they seemed fine with them. The oldest and youngest males looked to Clarke like they wouldn't cause them any trouble. It was the rest of them that had Clarke uneasy. There was a fierce warning in her gut telling her this was going to cost them, that this would be a mistake. She hoped her gut was wrong.

Murphy was someone to watch very carefully, if it wasn't necessary to help him and get samples of his blood, Clarke knew that he was someone she would never want to be around. Not only was he rude but he looked at them, even the people in his own group, like they were his puppets to do as he pleased. No, Clarke didn't like him at all and she could tell that Bellamy didn't want him to come at all.

The youngest man had caught her eye for more than one reason. Was he attractive? Yes. It wasn't that though that made him stand out. It was the gentleness in his eyes. He had no doubt killed already and she could see he had the same tactical mind that she had seen in Bellamy. He studied all of them like she knew her co-leader was doing, finding strengths, weakness, any kind of tell that he could push to break if needed. This man though, he had something Bellamy didn't. He had been out there living second to second among the zombies, not knowing where his next meal would be or if he would _be_ the next meal. However in spite of that he still had a softness to him, like the evils of this world had only briefly touched him before moving on. All together it made him a very dangerous person. Dangerous but safe, as long as you didn't go against him in any way.

While the youngest male had a softer edge to him that she liked, she appreciated the older man for the opposite. His eyes held laughter, he had a face that seemed to smile and laugh often but behind that was a guarded, slightly darker, vigilance that should have scared Clarke. Instead it made her think of her father, of the grim and focused look on his face as he tried to do the right thing even knowing he would most likely die for it. This man had lived a hard life, doing what he had to do long before the zombie invasion. She hoped she got a chance to sit and talk with him, he would be full of useful information and advice.

* * *

><p>10k's mind was going a million miles an hour with all the new information he had just heard and seen. What was said wasn't as interesting as what wasn't said. He had caught a few things he was sure the others didn't. Like how they had all looked at Clarke when their bitten person was mentioned. Not because she was talking no, they looked at her with pity and sadness. He would bet everything he owned that she was the one, she was infected. He wondered how recent it was as she wasn't showing any signs, she looked incredibly healthy. Unlike Murphy who was starting to look like a zombie himself!<p>

10k had also seen the signal during the topic of adults, again they were hiding something. Citizen Z knew about it and had given them a lame story of all the adults dying or turning while hunting for food and supplies. It would have been a believable story if he hadn't been watching so closely. They were lying, he just wasn't sure why yet. He didn't feel it was anything dangerous to him though, so he just kept it to himself and would see if he could figure things out when they got there. The only bits he felt as true where the ones about Clarke being capable of looking Murphy over despite her young age, because Citizen Z had been stressing since the start how important it was to get Murphy to California so if they backtracked it wouldn't be for a laugh.

He knew he was going to agree with going, and with their rules. Doc was also looking ready to go. It was the rest of them that had some doubts. Which of course had them all fighting over it before in the end Garnett settled it by saying it would be the best thing for Murphy, they would just have to keep their eyes open and be on the look out for anything suspicious.

Having their meager supplies already packed up meant they could just get on the road, heading back to Virginia, towards what hopefully was a safe zone. Honestly, 10k could deal with it being less safe if they had enough food for them and the hot shower they mentioned.

Different types of hot food, clean clothes and a long ass hot shower flashed through his mind as they drove, helping fight off the annoyance at having to sit next to Murphy. Only about 800 miles to go. That didn't seem too bad.

* * *

><p>10k was taking back his statement 200 miles later as his control not to push Murphy out while speeding down the highway was slipping.<p>

Only 600 miles to go. Food. Shower. Sleeping away from Murphy and his nasty drool. If he was lucky, a cigarette or twenty.

He could do this.

* * *

><p>Back at Mount Weather Clarke was sitting around having dinner with the others while they tossed around ideas about their tracking bracelets and what to do with them. It was almost a split vote on to just take them off or to leave them on for now and try to find out how they worked. If they did, the theory was that they would be able to use the tracking bugs themselves in case anyone ever got lost. Clarke herself could see them staying on as a good thing, it would be nice in case it was needed, this place was huge and easy to get lost in. For now though they would wait until they could get more information out of the bracelets, then figure out what to do.<p>

They finished dinner and those not on that nights cleaning duty went to make sure one of the large bunking rooms was cleaned and filled with blankets, pillows and towels. In case any of them wanted their own room they also got a few private rooms ready, they didn't have many of those empty so they would have to figure that out among each other.

Now they just had to sit back and wait until sometime tomorrow for them to arrive, if all went well on the road.


End file.
